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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27614588">Strand 4390</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/chuuspingu/pseuds/chuuspingu'>chuuspingu</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Enemies to Lovers, Ficlet, Implied Relationships, M/M, One Shot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:56:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>266</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27614588</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/chuuspingu/pseuds/chuuspingu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Why did you do it, Tom? This would have given you everything"</p><p>---------</p><p>Harry Potter and Tom Riddle are on opposite sides of the Time War, both travelling through time to change events in order to benefit their perceived utopia. Based off of  "This is How You Lose The Time War" by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harry Potter/Tom Riddle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Strand 4390</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I just got the book "This is How You Lose the Time War," and felt the best way to start off writing fanfic is with this little idea I had while reading. I haven't read much of it, in fact only about 34 pages, but it inspired me to write a short ficlet, with only the basic terms used in the story (i.e. "strand" refers to a timeline) I hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>       He surveyed the charred ruins around him, the ground littered with lifeless bodies, the corpses covering every square inch as far as the eyes could see. Tom truly did it, he had killed every last one of them. His knees gave out under him and he choked as he looked over his injuries, struggling to regain his breath after hours of battle. The weight of the past millennia engulfed him, settling over his shoulders as he looked up at Tom, who did nothing but stare. His fists curled, and he opened his mouth.</p><p><br/>       "Why did you do it, Tom? You were winning, you almost had this strand. This would have given you <em>everything</em>."</p><p>       His red eyes narrowed, grabbing Harry's chin and nudging it a fraction higher to meet his gaze head-on. In his peripheral, he caught sight of the blood streaming down tan skin. "They hurt you." It was said plainly, an emotionless statement much like how his side of their correspondence had begun, over the years escalating into so much <em>more</em> than just mocking the other's failure. Hidden meanings all stored in their memories, the parchment holding the words burned long ago. His words were factual, but Harry had been injured before to achieve his goals, his pain was never even considered a factor in an effort to win. Hell, even <em>Tom</em> had injured him, so how was this any different? Tom's blank expression faltered for only a second, and he leaned closer, lips brushing those of the boy collapsed in front of him, "Dearest Harry, you know only <em>I</em> am allowed to hurt you."</p>
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